WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior outfielders Marissa Jensen and Alexis McFarland each collected three hits with a double, while McFarland initiated a game-ending double play, as St. Francis took an early eight-run lead and held on for a 10-9 win over River City to kick off the 2026 girls' softball season Friday.

The contest was initially scheduled as a Troubadour home game, but respective field conditions forced a move to West Sacramento. Still, St. Francis played as the official home team, with the Raiders batting in the top of each inning.

Jensen finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored in the No. 3 spot of the Troubie lineup, while McFarland went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs at the top of the order. Ariella Alcantar hit 2 of 3, also with a double and also with two runs plated. Third baseman Isabella Barge (1-for-4 with a double) and pitcher Kaili Heeb (1-for-2, two RBIs) each had hits.

St. Francis batted around in its first inning, pushing across seven runs in the process. Heeb and McFarland each rapped out two-run singles in that opening frame, with Barge delivering on a two-run double. Heeb then helped her own cause defensively when she turned a 1-6-3 double play with Alcantar and freshman Hazel Pryor.

The Troubies extended their lead to 9-1, with Jensen leading off with a double then getting some help from a botched rundown that placed her on third. Pryor, who reached on her second straight hit by pitch, moved into scoring position on that play. Both the Cal State San Marcos commit and the frosh slugger came around when Alcantar rapped a grounder through the middle for a two-run hit. Those runs also came with another defensive boost: while Alcantar's hit easily scored Jensen, the throw from the outfield easily beat Pryor to the plate. However, rather than tagging Pryor for the third out, the RCHS catcher opted to fire to second in an effort to catch Alcantar advancing. That throw failed, and Pryor touched home without a challenge.

However, River City gained some ground in its third, when Tatum Tribble led off for one of her four hits, then scored two batters later on an Alexis Sabatke double to center. Hailey Flint drove in Sabatke with her triple to right, then Giana Grefaldia brought in Flint with a double to right.

St. Francis took advantage of an error in the fourth to increase its lead to 10-5, but the Raiders began chipping away with runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Tribble's fourth hit and Sabatke's third ignited a two-run rally in the top of the seventh, with Sabatke on first as the potential tying run. Heeb reentered in the pitching circle to replace reliever Reese Lewis. RC pitcher Jessalyn Kee roped a 1-2 pitch straight to McFarland in center. The future San Francisco State Gator fired to Pryor at first to double up Sabatke, ending the rally and preserving the victory.

The two teams not only combined for 19 runs but had 23 hits between them. The Raiders held a 13-10 edge in hits, but also committed four errors plus the two costly mental errors in the second.

Weather permitting, St. Francis returns to action against three former Delta League opponents: at Sheldon on Monday, Elk Grove at home on Wednesday, then at Franklin on February 27. All three games have a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.